by the meltingpot: Under cyberattacks(updated)

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Indeed, what is at work in the recent return of realism is the revenge of geography in the most old-fashioned sense. In the 18th and 19th centuries, before the arrival of political science as an academic specialty, geography was an honored, if not always formalized, discipline in which politics, culture, and economics were often conceived of in reference to the relief map. Thus, in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, mountains and the men who grow out of them were the first order of reality; ideas, however uplifting, were only the second.
And yet, to embrace geography is not to accept it as an implacable force against which humankind is powerless. Rather, it serves to qualify human freedom and choice with a modest acceptance of fate. This is all the more important today, because rather than eliminating the relevance of geography, globalization is reinforcing it. Mass communications and economic integration are weakening many states, exposing a Hobbesian world of small, fractious regions. Within them, local, ethnic, and religious sources of identity are reasserting themselves, and because they are anchored to specific terrains, they are best explained by reference to geography. Like the faults that determine earthquakes, the political future will be defined by conflict and instability with a similar geographic logic. The upheaval spawned by the ongoing economic crisis is increasing the relevance of geography even further, by weakening social orders and other creations of humankind, leaving the natural frontiers of the globe as the only restraint.
So we, too, need to return to the map, and particularly to what I call the “shatter zones” of Eurasia. We need to reclaim those thinkers who knew the landscape best. And we need to update their theories for the revenge of geography in our time.
Here is the link for the whole write up.

Now at 2nd place

My view is that relations between countries in the coming decades are most likely to reflect their cultural commitments, their cultural ties and antagonism with other countries rather than other factors. Quite obviously, power will continue to play a central role in global politics, as it always does. But usually there is something else behind conflicts. In the 18th century in Europe, the issues to a large extent involved questions of monarchy versus the emerging republican movements, first in America and then in France. In the 19th century, it involved states identifying themselves through nationalism. In the 20th century, ideology came to the fore, largely, but not exclusively, as a result of the Russian Revolution. We had fascism, communism and liberal democracy competing with each other. Well, that’s pretty much over. Liberal democracy has come to be accepted, in theory at least, around the world, if not always in practice. So the question really is what will be the central focus of global politics in the coming decades? My argument remains that cultural identities, antagonisms and affiliations will not only play a role, but play a major role in relations between states. The full interview is here.

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Every citizen in the City of Richardson will be able to access 756 Kbps of internet connectivity for free, from anywhere in the city. They will be able to access the internet from their homes, schools, restaurants and parks using standard wi-fi connections which are now installed on almost every notebook computer. That is almost as fast as many so-called high speed broadband connections that one pays dearly for today, and several times faster than the various hotspots at your local coffee shops. And I should note that the tax-payers of the City of Richardson are not paying one penny for this, and in fact are going to see additional revenues as a benefit. ... At the beginning of this letter, I suggested that this would be one of the fastest worldwide rollouts of a technology ever seen. It was just 20 years ago that the first cellular systems were being built. The rollout for mesh wireless systems is going to make that look slow. There are several reasons I make this assertion. But they all center on the facts that installing mesh systems will be cheaper and easier than any previous system and the economics in both the developed and especially the developing world will be so radically compelling. Throw in the fact the any astute politician will want to be at the front of this parade (They will all want to say, "I was the man who helped bring free internet to everyone!") and the groundwork is laid for rapid deployment. In Richardson and elsewhere, MeshLinx is offering the basic infrastructure for free. This avoids all the time consuming, political budget battles in the cities. When a service is offered for free, much of the mandated competitive process is eliminated. Next is the low cost of installation of the system. As noted above, Richardson is a city of roughly 100,000 people living in 27.4 square miles. It will "only" cost about $2,000,000 today to lay the wireless blanket I mentioned above. It will cost a great deal less in the future, as MeshLinx is building the pods at a pace of 100 a month today. The maximum output of the US pilot assembly line is 500 a month. When the demand exceeds this (and it will in a very short time) discussions have been held to move volume production to China. Of course, the world will need tens of millions of pods. The cost for a pod will be a fraction of today's cost, with that installation number for a city like Richardson soon being half (or less) the cost of today. What does that $1 or 2 million get you? The infrastructure to be an internet connection, telephone, security, entertainment provider and a whole lot more company. As noted, it will get cheaper as the number of pods being made each month rises, thus lowering their costs dramatically. This technology does have scale. The cost of physically putting up a pod is not a large part of the equation, as you simply need to run a power line, attach a few bolts to a mount on the side of a building or light pole and then off to the next point. Think about the 40,000 homes and businesses in Richardson. If and (hopefully) over time when 10% decide to pay $50 a month for 10-20 Mbps high speed internet access you could see a revenue of $2.5 million a year just from internet access. Now add in all the other income possibilities (phone, entertainment, security and don't forget advertising revenue on the free service!). Think about your town or country. What would service like this be worth? If you are a small city that does not have high speed connections available, how many businesses that could bring jobs do not come your way because they need reliable communications for their work and their employees? If you are in a developing country, where internet access is difficult and expensive, it will open whole new vistas. Couple that with the various programs which want to give cheap laptops to kids in poor countries, and you could see significant social progress in a generation. Here is the link.

Monday, April 13, 2015

Under cyberattacks(updated)

Why there is this sudden buzz about cyberattacks?

And why should I received two surprising SMSes all of a sudden?

The said SMSes were received from a Hyderabad company offering online trading of stocks.I did actually received the first SMS yesterday evening(imagine how the company executives are being energized to work late into a Sunday evening)!

The SMSes told me that it is NOW okay to trade by using their browser-based tool.The key word is NOW because it has not been okay since many months.

For many months now I have been under a constant cyber attacks.

1) First,I was blocked from logging into their trading console.This console is company-issued software which we need to download and install into our computers.Immediately I shot off an email detailing my problem.No response,which,in itself,is a surprise because this particular email id is a very privileged one,specifically supplied to registered users only.As such,we always received a very prompt responses.

2) Then,I tried their browser-based tool.It worked for some days.Then,I was blocked again there as well.This time I was genuinely surprised.Did they achieve the blockade by utilizing my specific ip address?Did they actually keep track of the ip addresses assigned to me?After some initial confusion,I began to reason that they might have block off all of the ip addresses originating from Manipur.It's because users from Manipur have been deserting the company because of a tax problem and I might be one of the last very few users left.

It's to be noted here that I can still log into their browser-based tool but the live streaming part of the tool does not work.And I need the live streaming part the most.In case of their console,once I got logged into it,there might not be ways to deny the live streaming part and so,I was blocked off completely.

I think trading in stock is everything to do with pattern reading.And I genuinely think that I manage to find out some consistent patterns by using their console,that too by working on it for some three/four years,during which,I must hasten to note,I did incur considerable losses.Just when I was beginning to give final touches to my patterns,they did block me off.That destroys my four years of hard work.

Why should I meekly give in to a publicly traded company's wicked whim?

Military Intelligence.That's the reason.I genuinely suspect that the Military Intelligence quietly talk to the Hyderabad company and started all these cyberattacks.If the second largest military of the world decides to inflict cyber attacks to a poor blogger,what options would he get,in the first place?

So,I opted for practicability.I immediately jumped to the browser-based charts.

My first strategy was to get first initial patterns from their console and then,get themselves again tested in the browser-based charts.Now,I have no option but to solely depend on browser-based charts.(I have software when paired with subscription data delivers really live feeds and charts but browsers are getting better and better--to the point where we can use it for actual trade,especially,in case of NSE feed).

Would India'a military try to deny me the charts supplied by the likes of Google and Yahoo?.I think they have already got the tools to do it.That they so accurately track my ip addresses means that they have already thoroughly hacked my computer.I have a commercially available anti-virus and internet security software installed but it's almost certain that it cannot fend off a military grade attack.

As long as I manage to get the charts I will continue my works.When they start to stand between the charts and me,I would think of options available to me all over again.

UPDATE
18-04-15(8 pm)

As soon as Barack Obama penned an a piece on TIME singing paean to Narendrra Modi,a pro-Russian journalist was shot dead in Ukraine.They are saying--'We also target journalist,if our national interest demand it'.

Then,300 US paratroopers descended on Ukraine,ostensibly for training purpose.

Here,we have to note that Ukraine and Burma are unexpectedly fast becoming the frontline of the great two forces slowly gathering along the battleline.

From the frontline to the place where there is the centre of gravity--that link,right now,is a bit hazy and that's the reason why they need a person like Mr Amit Shah to give a hint to it.The opposing party know this and that's why Amit Shah's chopper acted funny at the last moment,just like the Airforce One did in Germany during Narendra Modi's just concluded visit.(They said it was the bad weather which compelled Amit Shah to cancel his chopper ride and to opt for arduos road journey to
Imphal.Today's Imphal weather,which can be generally taken as a relaible barometer of what might be there at Kohima,is not that bad that would warrant a cancellation of a chopper flight).

So,Mr Amit Shah's hastily announced Imphal visit is meant to convey the message that what has been happening in the last few days in Ukraine is actually meant for the Manipuri rebels.

That there was a shooting down of a journalist might imply that the cyberattacks on this blogger is already becoming a big issue,which I don't have much liking for.I prefer to be left alone to enable me to do what I enjoy most--finding trends and patterns.So,I won't dwell much on this part.

The next part,of course,is the arrival of US paratroopers.

If we look back at the important military operations against the Manipuri rebels we would realize that the para regimens had always serve as the hard cutting edge of the attacks.The other troopers,such as the Assam Rifles,serve as the roles of those doing what they call the area domination.

That they have brought the US paratroopers in Ukraine might imply that the Indian para regimens might have been readying themselves for actions against the Manipuri rebels.

So,we might hear some big news soon.

How soon?

Here,we have to take note of another hurriedly annoounced visit--that of Chinese president,Mr Xi Jinping.

So,we might hear the big news during Xi visit(of Indonesia and pakistan) which he is begining on 20th April 15.

by the meltingpot

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